Radiant Shadows

Wicked Lovely Book #4, Radiant Shadows written by Melissa Marr, was a struggle to read. To understand, you must read the series as I have been forced to ... with many months in between each book and with many fantasy plots/characters to muddle my memory of Marr's unique faery world. I'll admit that she beautifully paints a picture of her "world", with just enough rebellious teen angst to draw in even the most reluctant teen reader, but she does not do what so many other young adult authors do, that is, she doesn't remind the reader of each character's journey. She simply continues to build and build and build upon her story with each new book and I was forced to read Wicked Lovely twice just so I could begin Ink Exchange (#2). I refused to reread both when Fragile Eternity (#3) was released and I paid dearly. With the fourth book now complete and added to my journal, I almost dread having to read the final book, which is due to be released in February of 2011. I can't even remember the title. Oh, and while reading, I felt so much like a tween reader...I couldn't remember the title, character names, etc... Perhaps we as educators should take this into account the next time we question a reader. Did the author do a good enough job writing the book so that the student COULD make a connection? We assume all authors are good authors simply because they have a book published. Not so.

Although I enjoyed the first book immensely, I would not recommend reading this series unless you can pick them up and read them all consecutively.

Exhausted and frustrated beyond belief!
Happier Reading!
RC